Which bullet sizer?

[Carsten]

Hi guys.

I have decided to buy a lube sizer.

The choice is between RCBS or Lyman, with or without heater?

An additional question:
Can I use a .454 sizer die for lubing .452 boolits or will this make a mess?

Regards
Carsten

[myg30]

Carsten, Welcome to the CB forum. Either Lyman or rcbs lube sizer will serve you well and they use the same dies. Not sure if one is really any better but lately I read lots of posts where rcbs factory warranty and customer service is first class so that's a plus !

As far as needing a heater really depends on your lube if it needs heat to flow easily. Your room temperature plays a big part too. Some guys just warm the sizer up with a hair dryer doesn't take much just to warm the steel. I use BAC lube mostly and at 63'F room temp it needs a little heat from hair dryer. Summer room temps here 72'F+ it flows well.

As for sizer die, you want/ need to use a sizer that is at least a minimum of .001"-.002" smaller than your cast boolit diameter is or lube will flow all around it. Also you will not be resizing the boolit round if cast was slightly out of round as some are.
Your mold should drop bigger boolits .454,.453 so you can size down to .452, info on making the mold cast bigger boolits is in the cast section.

Not sure what your sizing lubing for rifle or pistol or both. The "new" tumble lube works quit well as many have posted if you have not read about it yet, and a push thru type sizer works for that application.

I hope I was able to help some and others here will add more info and years of experience as this is an great forum with lots of great folks.
Good luck in your decision and be safe.
One more note, if you have not read the cast bullet notes from Lasc.us located in the box next to CASTPICS at the bottom of this page please check them out. Great reading and info you will need to know.

Regards, Mike

[RobS]

Well covered above and in asking if you can lube a boolit that drops smaller than .454" then the answer is yes. Depending on how hard or soft the lube is will determine how much you turn the adjuster bolt to pressurize the lube reservoir. I will often times use a .454 dies to lube my .452 bullets that I already sized through my .452 Lee push through die.

[myg30]

Well covered above and in asking if you can lube a boolit that drops smaller than .454" then the answer is yes. Depending on how hard or soft the lube is will determine how much you turn the adjuster bolt to pressurize the lube reservoir. I will often times use a .454 dies to lube my .452 bullets that I already sized through my .452 Lee push through die.


Rob, does the lube not run around the bullet and come up on top and make a total mess ?
You have my curiosity.

Mike

[RobS]

No, not if you don't crank down on the pressure adjusting bolt. It's a "feel" thing and making sure you don't wait a long time with the boolit at the bottom of the stroke. However I wouldn't go over .002" than the boolit diameter with the sizing die diameter. As long as you don't have a really soft lube things will be just fine. Whitelabel lubes has many different lubes that works well as does other members here who sell on the forum. I make a lube just a touch softer than 50/50 lube and it still works fine as long as I don't get carried away on the lube pressure bolt. I also use a small round primer cardboard cut out from a spent 45 acp case that I put on the lube/sizing die's push rod too help keep the lube off the base of the boolits.

[Yodogsandman]

Check out this ongoing thread...

http://castboolits.gunloads.com/showthread.php?269715-RCBS-or-Lyman

[Carsten]

I got a good deal on an RCBS Lube-a-Matic.

Now I need top punches for Lee .430 310gr. and .452 255gr. boolits.
Both are with very wide meplats.
Can I just use a flat top punch?

[cajun shooter]

If you have bullets with a flat meplat, you may either make your own TP or purchase a set from Tom at Accurate Molds. Tom makes a set of three punches to cover all size of bullets. They are made of aluminum and sell for just $5 for a set of three. A real bargain and much cheaper than buying factory TP's.
You may make a temporary TP by filling the TP with a rounded nose with hot glue and letting it dry Later David

[MBTcustom]

I would vote RCBS. Better warranty and better quality.

[EDG]

I have 2 LAMs and original from 1973 and one of the LAM II.

I have 2 gray 450s that work ok and have a tight fitting ram.

I have 2 orange 450s with the updated linkage. The ram fit is crummy I would never buy another.
In fact I am not much inclined to buy anything from Lyman. Their old time managment style will put them out of business if they don't change.

[ioon44]

RCBS factory warranty and customer service is first class.

You should look a Star seizer / lubber before making a purchase.

[dragon813gt]

RCBS, Lyman is a black hole of nothingness when it comes to warranty issues. RCBS sent me parts to to rebuild two LAM1s on their dime. I won't get into how long it took to get the parts but I got them w/out any cost to me.

[Carsten]

I got .430 and .452 dies for my new RCBS LAM today.
I made a flat top punch myself.
Lubed a handfull of 45 Colt boolits..
It works very well.
Nice looking and clean rounds without any mess.

[cajun shooter]

I feel that the RCBS Lam11 is by far a better deal if you are choosing between the two. When it comes to this type of lube/sizer , the Saeco machine is the leader of the pack. When I say that, I'm speaking about the build of the machine and it's parts. As far as ranking them, it would be Saeco, RCBS Lam 11, and then Lyman.
The downside on the Saeco is the cost of it's dies and TP's but it has a lifetime warranty. It's about $35 above the cost of the RCBS.
The RCBS is available almost everywhere and will back up the warranty without hassle.
They had a member post to look at the Star, well as far as fast, easy lube/sizing goes it can't be beat. I have had as many as three Star's with air on my loading bench at once. Each one dedicated to a certain lube and type of bullet. The Stars and all others are not easy to change out from smokeless lube to a BP lube in just a few minutes. It requires the melting of all the contained lube in the machine plus the changing of the dies and TP's. The Star machines out pace any other lube/sizers but they are not cheap by no means. The standard machine is close to $300 now and that is without any accessories. If you buy the air cylinder, and heating element and then a die and TP for one caliber, you are looking at a $500 purchase. Big difference from all the others. It's like wanting to buy a car and then someone suggesting you should go by the BMW dealer before you decide. Later David

[Artful]

I you need a quick custom nose punch you can do it with a little expoxy -
I have RCBS, Lyman 450 and STAR - for production the star gets the nod but for rifle and small production runs their RCBS or Lyman work fine -